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Buying a business

Understanding a share purchase agreement

A learning guide and annotated example to help you understand the structure of a share purchase agreement and prepare questions for your solicitor. It is not an agreement for signature.

England & WalesPDF learning guide
Martin O’Donoghue

The experience behind DocuDraftFounded by Martin O’Donoghue · Corporate lawyer · MBA · Top 10 law firm experience

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Inside the proposed pack

What’s included
in your document pack.

See how the document and supporting material fit together before making your choice.

This is a contents outline. Final legal files and supporting guidance are not yet available to download.

1

Clause-by-clause learning guide

Core document
2

Annotated fictional example

Supporting material
3

Questions for your transaction solicitor

Supporting material
4

PDF only — not for signature

Supporting material
A starting point for

Understand the agreement.

Buyers who want to understand principal SPA clauses and prepare questions for their own transaction solicitor.

Read the scope alongside your existing agreements, the facts of the matter and any professional advice you need.

Scope matters

When to get advice.

The example is educational. It is not a ready-to-sign share purchase agreement.

Individual legal or tax advice, negotiations and filings are outside a template purchase.

From selection to completion

How to use this pack.

1

Gather the details

Confirm the parties, purpose and information the document needs.

2

Read with your adviser in mind

Use the clause map and learning example to identify questions for your transaction solicitor.

3

Prepare your questions

Keep a list of the points to discuss about your own transaction.

Before you choose

The practical details.

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What file format will I receive?

The planned format is an educational PDF. It is not an editable agreement for use in a live transaction.

What are the licence and access arrangements?

The proposed model is a one-off purchase with a defined business-use licence. Final terms, download access and any included updates will be shown before purchase.

Is the product ready to buy?

This product is in preparation. Contact us to ask about availability.

Illustrative Business Buyer Toolkit collection
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Business Buyer Toolkit

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Alongside this document

Related starting points.

Acquisition heads of terms document pack
Buying a business

Acquisition heads of terms

Set out the proposed commercial terms before detailed transaction documents are prepared. Separate share and asset purchase variants are planned.

In preparation
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